You can stick to your metabolism-boosting diet when eating out. You just need a strategy. Whether you’re taking a look before you go online or you’re opening up the menu as you sit down at the table, knowing the low-down on restaurant lingo can make all the difference when making healthy choices.

Depending on where you’re dining, you face unique challenges with the options available — from freebies on the table to accompanying cocktails to specific dishes.

When dealing with the freebies at restaurants such as bread or tortilla chips on the table, weigh your options:

If you want bread or chips, take one serving from the main basket to your side plate. Make a concession elsewhere in the meal such as skipping an alcoholic drink, dessert, or starchy side (like pasta, potatoes, or additional bread with your meal).

If you don’t want it, ask the waiter to remove from your table (of course, only if all your table companions feel the same way!).

If you don’t want the freebie but someone else at your table does, keep your mouth busy by drinking water and getting involved in conversation. Also, having a snack 2–3 hours prior to the meal will prevent you from going to the restaurant too hungry so that you can keep your hands out of the bread basket.

Restaurant Prep: Choose or Lose

Choose

Lose

Steamed

Sautéed

Broiled

Crispy

Stir-fry

Fried or pan-fried

Baked

Au gratin

Grilled

Scalloped

Poached

Creamed or buttered

Roasted

Stuffed or crusted

When in doubt, always ask your waiter about how a dish is prepared or how big the plate is. Often servers can be accommodating with menu substitutes and lighter methods if you simply speak up. Also, descriptive words may not tell the whole picture.

Vegetables may be steamed, but they could also then be covered in butter sauce. Stir-fry is healthier than fried or pan-fried because less oil is used for a shorter period of time. However, often dishes that are stir-fried will have another sauce added on top of that such as soy sauce with cornstarch for thickening.

Each cuisine presents its own hazards when navigating the options available to you.

Cuisine Choose or Lose

Cuisine

Choose

Lose

Italian

Chicken paillard

Chicken or veal Parmigiana, Milanese

Shrimp marinara

Shrimp scampi

Whole-wheat pasta primavera

White pasta Bolognese

House salad, oil and vinegar

Tomato and mozzarella

Steamed spinach

Zucchini fritti

Mexican

Seafood ceviche

Nachos

Chicken fajitas (tortillas used sparingly)

Steak burrito or tacos

Side of black beans

Fried plantains

Guacamole (2 tablespoons)

Jalapeno poppers

Tequila with club soda, lime

Frozen margarita

Chinese

Steamed chicken or shrimp or tofu with veggies

General Tso’s chicken

Moo goo gai pan (stir-fry)

Beef with broccoli

Brown rice

White rice or noodles

Steamed dim sum

Egg roll

Fresh pineapple

Green tea ice cream

Indian

Chicken tikka or tandoori

Chicken korma or tikki masala

Roti (whole wheat)

Stuffed naan

Lentil soup

Samosa

Steakhouse

Petite filet mignon

Rib eye or prime rib

Shrimp cocktail

Fried calamari or crab cake

Grilled tuna steak

Filet of sole Francese

Plain baked potato

Crispy onions

Grilled asparagus

Creamed spinach

Restaurant menus can be deceiving. Just because a dish sounds like the healthier option doesn’t always make it the best choice when out to eat. Don’t make these common restaurant mistakes:

Olive oil with bread: Although oil is a healthier alternative to butter, you can still soak up 120 calories per tablespoon when dipping your bread into olive oil. Either dip lightly or skip altogether.

Small plates or tapas: Portion control heaven, right? Not always. When out to eat at tapas, it’s often hard to remember how much you’ve eaten when multiple plates keep coming out of the kitchen and you take bites off every one.

On top of that, if the items are fried or sautéed, you may be getting more than you bargained for. When choosing small plates with a table, put in a request for ceviches, grilled meats, and veggies.

Salads: Although you may be getting a dose of vegetables with a salad, you may also be getting the caloric equivalent of a hamburger. At Applebee’s, for example, the Grilled Shrimp and Spinach Salad clocks in at over 1,000 calories — which is about the equivalent of their Steak and Riblets Combo.

Items to watch for and exclude from salads include creamy dressings, croutons, cheese, bacon, flash fried or breaded protein sources, and the list goes on. Ask what’s in your salad, make swaps, and ask for all dressings on the side.

Vegetarian and vegan: Eggplant Parmigiana, cheese ravioli, vegetable burritos, and fried tofu are just a few examples of ways restaurants infuse saturated fat and sodium into seemingly innocent meatless dishes. Sometimes meat or fish can be a better option depending on the preparation method and what else is on the dish.